Mato's Packing House Market

[buckster1986]

I'm trying to find information on my Great Grandpa's market. I'm not familiar with how address have changed over the years. I have read in other threads that they have changed from time to time. The address was:

5248 Russell
Detroit, MI

As far as I can tell it was torn down to make way for larger buildings. I do know it was there between July 1946 to July 1950. My grandpa helped run the store after returning home from the war. He later went on to open his own store.

Any information from anyone would be awesome. Figured the people here are always knowledgeable and helpful.

[buckster1986]

A picture of my great grandpa in the market...

[LodgeDodger]

Buckster, what a great photo!

[DetroitZack]

Good luck in your research. What a photo!

[Hornwrecker]

Sanborn, vol 3, 1921, sheet 84

Attachment 6104

[buckster1986]

Thanks, Hornwreker! That sucks...all of that is gone.

[Hornwrecker]

I always thought that part of Russell was industrial, but looking at that Sanborn map, it was pretty much all "S"s, which is a whole lot of storefronts. Fisher Body plant #10 was just down Farnsworth on the next block east.

[buckster1986]

Hornwreker, is there a way to tell what the other store fronts are with those maps?

[Detroitnerd]

Hornwreker, is there a way to tell what the other store fronts are with those maps?

A few people on the forum have excellent old city directories. Those list what was on a street in a given year. I bet someone'll pipe up.

If not, you can see old city directories in the Detroit Public Library's Main Branch.

[Hornwrecker]

You probably need to look through a Polk directory or other city guide, like this on online from 1929, and be prepared to spend lots of time looking. I don't know of any more recent ones available on the web.

http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text...S8107.1928.001

I couldn't find a Mato in this edition, but I did find my grandfather's bakery in Hamtramck, so it wasn't a waste of time.

[MikeM]

From 1935:

Mato, Andrew [[Eliz), butcher, 8412 Thaddeus


From 1940:

Mato, Andrew [[Eliz), meatcutter, 8412 Thaddeus-home
Mato, Mrs Eliz, grocer & meats, 5842 Russell, 8412 Thaddeus-home

[[Listed as if she owned the business and he was employed there as a meatcutter.)


From 1946, 1949, and 1961 phone books:

Mato's Packing House Meat Market
5248 Russell
TEmple2-1182

No Andrew Mato or Mato meat market listed in 1967 directory, and Russell Street address listed as vacant.

[buckster1986]

Thanks guys for the help. I went down to Thaddeus yesterday to find their house still standing in pretty awesome shape...one of the few in that area.

[MikeM]

Regarding Hornwrecker's map:

- North is to the left and so the store was on the southeast corner of Russell and Frederick
- it's from 1921 when the city was renumbered, but it lists both the old and new addresses, i.e., 5248 [[new) and 1120 [[old)

The rest of the block of Russell south to Farnsworth, from 1940:

5246 - William Mihajov
5238/40 - George Muntean, wholesale meats
5234 - Detroit Times [[branch)
5228/30 - John [[Rose) K Orlich, funeral director & Madison Gibson @ rear
5220 - Mrs Mildred Kimpan, confectioner
5218 - Dragimer Kimpan & Chris Drazich
5216 - Argir Vasileff, tailor & George Danley
5214 - Frank Lewis & Mrs Amelia Duncan & William Hobson
5210 - Constantine Culescu, barber
5208 - Mrs Caroline Dawson
5200/04 - Michael Mihailoff, restaurant

[Detroitnerd]

Did Russell have a car?

[MikeM]

Did Russell have a car?

From Farnsworth up to Harper or Piquette.

[MikeM]

A 1921 directory lists 5248 Russell as a drug store.

[English]

Thanks for sharing that pic, Buckster! Is the place you saw close to Eastern Market?

[buckster1986]

Their house was in Delray...Hungarian immigrants.

[EastsideAl]

Here is a piece of a circa 1950 Sanborn showing the block of Russell in question between Farnsworth and Frederick [[which is on the left). As you can see, a wholesale meat operation took up a lot of the block next to the store at 5248.

[buckster1986]

After discovering some video from the Christmas we framed that photo for my grandfather...it is actually his father in a store before the Russell Street store. It was located at South and Yale sometime in the 1920's. He owned it with his uncle and may have lost it in the Great Depression.

[MikeM]

1921:

8400 South
Kokai & Sons, groceries

Gone now, but what's the deal with the plaza in that location, across from Holy Cross?

[gazhekwe]

I love visiting those old neighborhoods via the wonderful resources here. Can't you just imagine how it was back then? Everything could be walked to, and you could shop every day for your cold items, since refrigerators weren't all that common.

[buckster1986]

Thanks for the information, Mike.

[pgn421]

MikeM- what directory do you use to get the info?

[MikeM]

Polk's city directories: 1921, 1925 [[Michigan), 1935, 1940, 1967[[eastside)
or telephone directories: 1914, 1915, 1918, 1929, 1946 [[YP), 1947, 1949, 1955[[suburbs), 1959[[suburbs), 1961, 1967[[YP).